The year that was...

After much debate (between laziness and the blogger inside me) I decided to write about the year that was... more for the sake of memories than anything else. 2007 has been a wonderful year for us and we just wanted to take a few minute to thank all those who made this year spectacular for us and to be grateful for what we have!

We started the year traveling and in Detroit. January 2nd we signed our lives away as we signed the papers for our new home. It was exciting and fun. February, we moved into our first home. It was a dream come true. The perfect home, the perfect neighborhood. We were in love with it! March was the big month for V with her big dance performance. April flew by fast and May kicked off with a trip to Grand Canyon with V's best friend from college, and we rolled the red carpet to welcome V's parents, bro and granny home. It was their first visit to US and it was fun having them around. We wound up May with a trip to Niagara Falls and New York (of course visiting family in between). June and July were fun months with family around and before we realized it was August.

September started off with a trip to Seattle, visiting good friends and traveling around. October it was time for fall colors and New England. November V finally was done with her Masters and found herself a pretty good job. Baby bro KA was back during the end of November and in addition to the yummy food and other knickknacks painstakingly shopped for and packed by loved ones in India, he brought along his wit and crazy humor. December, a dream trip to paradise - Hawaii!

What a year it has been! We are thankful for every thing. We are truly blessed!

Who designed this?

Akaka Falls near Hilo. For more of our Hawaii photos click on the photo

And it is time to round up the year. I look into 2008 with expectations and dreams! Lots of dreams and hopes. Resolutions...we really are not the resolutions type! The usual workout regularly, get organized etc are always there! We try to take a conscious effort everyday and a new addition to that list is our effort to leave a smaller carbon footprint and be more environmentally aware.

And as I get ready for 2008, I remember an incident from our recent Hawaii trip. We were at the Akaka Falls near Hilo, amazed by its sheer beauty and power and as we stood there clicking pictures and enjoying nature, a young boy probably around 5 asked his mom in a loud voice, "Who designed this?" And there was silence in the area, other onlookers were unsure whether to laugh or just ignore the comment. And I was stunned! The boy in his childish innocence stumbled upon what I was trying to say for the longest possible time - a simple awareness of the complexities and beauty around us.

And that is what I want for 2008, a conscious awareness of this wondrous world around me! It is a work par excellence and I want to enjoy the small things in life as I pursue bigger dreams! And to all Poohsden readers, wishing you a year filled with love, luck and happiness!

Where do we go from here?

We are back in Houston nursing bad colds and sore throats. The vacation was wonderful. Daily diary notes on our trip are being updated in our travel blog. Meanwhile, I came across this. Scary isn't it? I am hoping to get my hands on the original report and take a look at it sometime.

And above all I loved the last line in the news report, But the real question is, where do we go from here? I feel we all know the environment is polluted now, so why don't we move forward and take steps to rectify the same?